Quincy
| notable members = Wandenreich | tblColour = | textColour = #FFFFFF }} The in modern terms, were mediums, having the ability to detect the existence of . They were first discovered when they began training to confront Hollows in order to defeat them, the same as do. Most of the Quincy were destroyed by the Shinigami over two hundred years ago in order to prevent the destruction of the world. The remaining Shinigami banded together behind their king, Yhwach, and formed the Wandenreich. Overview Quincy are a spiritually aware s who possess the ability to manipulate and can use this ability to accomplish a multitude of feats. As such, their powers are often considered unnatural by other beings, namely the , who believe that their power to destroy a Hollow's soul upsets the balance of the world. It is for this reason that Shinigami and Quincy are often compared to oil and water in that the two are polar opposites; this has lead to a multitude of conflicts over the centuries with the Shinigami. Abilities wielding his Spirit Weapon, Gram.]] * : Although Shinigami and Quincy both use when fighting, they both have a completely opposite fighting style. Shinigami use the spiritual power created from their soul in conjunction with a to fight against the Hollows using a power from within. On the contrary, a Quincy uses the in the atmosphere, and combines it with his/her Reiryoku to create weapons, meaning that they use external power. They have an easier time collecting this energy in environments with higher concentrations of reishi, namely the Soul Society or . To a sufficiently powerful Quincy, there is no difference between reishi and reiryoku as a source of power. * Spirit Weapon: This is the weapon that Quincy are able to create by gathering the reishi in the air and solidifying it with their own reiryoku. The only limit to a Quincy's ability to create and fire arrows is their own stamina and ability to absorb ambient reishi. These weapons have also been known to take the form of several different styles of weapons, not just bows; they can take the form of swords, pistols, staffs and knives, among others. Spiritual Awareness: As a spiritual being, the Quincy can sense s and other spiritual beings at a significant distance, and tell in what direction they are in. As such, Quincy are known to possess an acute perception of Reiatsu. Blood Purity At some point within their history, the Quincy began to distinguish themselves based upon an individual's ancestry and adopted the practice of true-breeding. Those who were descended from a long line of only Quincy and so, were thought to have a pure heritage, came to be known as Quincy, while all others were instead referred to as . In order to preserve their pure lineage, many families conducted arranged marriages between their own children and only those belonging to other pure families. Appearance The final point of contrast between the Quincy and is their respective choice of uniform. While the Shinigami wear traditional, black, flowing hakama, the Quincy wear white, form-fitting, high-collared tunics. These bear some resemblance both to typical Mandarin Chinese dress as well as cassocks of Catholic priests. This gives the Quincy a distinctly "foreign" or "Western" style compared to the Shinigami, which uphold a more traditional "Japanese" or "Eastern" style. One peculiar recurring motif of Quincy is that of a cross, which appears frequently on their uniforms and artifacts. The cross is not the same shape among all Quincy, as both uses a more Celtic cross and uses a pentacle. There was also a reference to a six pointed star that appeared on the back of Uryū's tunic, although this might be the Ishida family crest. The differences between Quincy and Shinigami in costume and iconography are minor compared to the differences in weaponry and ideology. History Origins The Quincy were created by Yhwach using his blood, meaning that his blood flows through each Quincy making him their rightful king. The Quincy were scattered all over the world at one time and were the relatives of magic hunters who specialized in the war against Hollows. Fall of the Quincy Since the origin of the Quincy, many years passed within Soul Society trying to appeal to the Quincy that the handling of Hollows should be left to the Shinigami. The Quincy refused to accept the situation and, as time went on, the number of Quincy increased and the cycle of souls became more unstable. As such, the Shinigami were forced to reluctantly wipe out the Quincy in order to maintain the balance of the world. Failed Reconciliation The Quincy line was closely monitored over the decades, as their numbers continued to dwindle. Later the Quincy advanced the idea that since they were already among the living and still more numerous at the time, they could act as "first responders" to Hollow attacks: protecting Humans until the less-numerous Shinigami could send a representative to finish the Hollow off. Embittered by the recent war, the Shinigami refused to participate, opting instead to allocate their limited resources to reacting to the most dangerous Hollows and current Hollow attacks. This caused great enmity towards Shinigami, especially from , whose grandfather, , was slain by a group of Hollows before the Shinigami arrived. Quincy Legend: History Realized Within Quincy legend, there is a song known as the which speaks of a . According to the song, the seal would be broken and the king would regain his heart after 900 years. 90 years after, his intellect would return. And 9 years afterwards, his power would return. To regain his powers, the king would have to steal the powers of every impure Quincy in the world, or more specifically, the Gemischt Quincy. This legend was proven true when Yhwach stole 's and 's powers. However, according to Yhwach, there is an additional part of this song: 9 days after he regained his power, the emperor will regain the world. Danger to the Balance govern the souls between the and Soul Society, which maintains a balance that if not kept would result in the mutual destruction of both worlds. All souls, including Hollows, are subject to the Shinigami governance of maintaining the balance. Quincy completely extinguish Hollows and thus the souls that come to the Human World do not return to Soul Society and therefore the souls would increase only on the side of the Human World. This means that the Human World becomes heavy in souls causing Soul Society to spill over into it; mixing life and death. The ultimate result would be the end of the world. Philosophy While they are trained to confront Hollows in order to defeat them just as Shinigami do, the biggest difference between the Quincy and Shinigami, since ancient times, is whether to kill or not to kill Hollows. The Shinigami purify Hollows with their Zanpakutō and send them to Soul Society, while the Quincy killed the Hollows. The idea can be seen as comparing justice and vengeance: "Hollows devour souls of Humans, so why must it be that those who harm and kill friends and relatives get sent peacefully to Soul Society?" Captain surmises Quincy are not hostile to Hollows so intensely simply because of tradition because hostility is born from different ideologies, but it is impossible to hate something which has no will or ideology, and theorizes there is only one reason one could maintain such a grudge for so long: the innate fear which comes of something that threatens one's very existence. This view is corroborated by who reveals Quincy have no "anti-bodies" to defend from Hollows and everything composing a Hollow is poison to a Quincy. If a Quincy is eroded by a Hollow, not only does their weaken, but their soul itself is destroyed, and they die: they cannot even undergo like a Shinigami. This is why Quincy must eradicate Hollows. Powers & Abilities Like Shinigami and Arrancar, Quincy have a diverse list of abilities at their disposal which they can use to fight other spiritually aware beings. * Heilig Pfeil (神聖滅矢 (ハイリッヒ・ブファイル), Hairihhi Bufairu; German for "Holy Arrows", Japanese for "Sacred Destruction Arrows"): A Quincy technique that allows the user to is able to form arrows by collecting in the atmosphere, absorbing from an opponent or gathering spirit energy. The strength of the arrow can vary between users, as 's arrows are considered to be more powerful than those of , while 's can create deep cavities in the ground and vaporize a foe as durable as . * Blut (血装 (ブルート), Burūto; German for "Blood", Japanese for "Blood Guise"): By making flow directly into their blood vessels, users of this technique can drastically increase their attack and defense power to inhuman levels. However, despite the significant danger this potentially presents to one's opponents, Blut possesses one major flaw: because the independent forms of the technique for attack and defense operate using two different Reishi systems, they cannot be employed simultaneously. : An advanced Quincy movement technique, allowing the user to move at high speed by riding on the flow of created below their feet. Essentially, it is the Quincy equivalent to the Shinigami's and the 's . * Ransōtengai (乱装天傀, Heavenly Wild Puppet Suit): A high level technique which allows the user to control their body parts using strings of controlled by their brain, forming lines or strings made of . Using this technique, the Quincy can control their body like a marionette, allowing them to move freely despite paralysis, broken limbs, or any other force which would impede normal movement. *' ' (滅却師完聖体 (クインシー・フォルシュテンディッヒ), Kuinshī Forushutendihhi; German for "Quincy: Complete", Japanese for "Monk of Destruction: Complete Holy Form"): By using new technology, Quincy can release their powers without fearing the risk of losing them, like the previous Quincy release. It was developed around the same time the Quincy supposedly were all wiped out, two hundred years ago. Each Vollständig has its own unique name. :* : A technique that allows a Quincy to use the most basic ability to gather Reishi in the most powerful way; by enslaving it. It literally tears away the components which make up Reishi-based objects, such as those which make up Hueco Mundo and Soul Society, as well as the bodies of spiritual beings, such as Ayon. When the body of a spiritual being is affected by this power, a Quincy can assume the characteristics and associated capabilities of his victim, with the added capability of choosing to store those characteristics in a Sklaverei Medallion. Former Powers & Abilities * (滅却師最終形態（クインシー・レツトシュティール）, Kuinshī Retsutoshutīru; German for "Quincy: Last Style", Japanese for "Monk of Destruction: Final Form"): The old Quincy release, Letzt Stil operated by the removal of the , causing a temporary, yet massive, boost to all the user's abiltiies at the cost of losing their Quincy powers. Use of it died out after the Quincy genocide, with all surviving Quincy switching to the use of Vollständig, save for and his grandson. Quincy items * : A cross in the shape of the Quincy symbol that only those who have inherited Quincy abilities and techniques are allowed to possess. Standard equipment for any Quincy, the Quincy Cross acts as the focus for a Quincy bow. The cross need not necessarily be in a cross shape, as Ryūken's cross is a pentacle. Uryū's first Quincy Cross took the shape of a cross, but his recent one also takes the shape of a pentacle. *' ': This is a powerful Quincy artifact that can increase a Quincy's power exponentially, but requires a dangerous and exhausting type of resistance training by wearing it for a week while constantly firing spiritual arrows to master. The glove works by scattering the Reishi in the surrounding area, making it much harder to form a working bow. *' ': Gintō are small liquid-filled capsules that store Reiryoku, and are used by the Quincy for spell casting in the same way that Shinigami use . Like Kidō, they are activated by calling out various commands and chants. *' ': The Seele Schneider is a thin sword that can be fired similarly to an arrow. It's much longer than a standard arrow and functions something like a chainsaw: the Reishi of its blade vibrate at ultra-high frequencies, loosening the molecular bonds between any spirit matter it cuts so that the Quincy user may easily absorb the freed spirit particles. Uryū also stated that using it increased his spiritual power. The Seele Schneiders Uryū uses are stolen from a secret storage room under Karakura hospital. * '|装身具|Sōshingu|lit. "Body-Dressing Element"}}: The Quincy Bangle is an artifact designed to mimic a Quincy's natural powers, allowing for a multitude of uses. It works by drawing in Reishi from the environment, much like a Quincy does regularly. It can only be used properly by those who are already adept at forming and directing Reishi. *'Hollow Bait': This item is a small, coin-shaped disk that attracts Hollows when crushed. When used by Uryū, the bait, in combination with Ichigo's powerful , was able to draw a out of . * : Armor which Ryūken temporarily wore when preparing to save Masaki. While the full set has not been seen, it includes a large pauldron and a staff hung across the wearer's back with a chain. * Bankai Ensnaring Device (卍解籠絡設備, Bankai Rōraku Setsubi): A seal, invented by the Quincy of the and mass produced by Muramasa Neikan for the Impero Nascosto, that could both seal a Shinigami's Bankai and, after Muramasa's modifications, an Arrancar's Resurrección. * BlitzKlinge (閃光 つるぎsenkou tsurugi, Jap Lit, "Flash Blade,"; Germ Lit, "Sword Flash,"): Specially designed hilts inspired by the archaic, outdated Quincy hybrid arrow-blades, Seele Schneider, these hilts have more of a tubular design with flattened ends with the ability to be deployed for projectile useage in the event they are to be utilized as arrows. These have been modified to an extent where they can "enslave" Spiritrons at a much higher rate, with capabilities to be harness that absorbed matter into cutting power or explosive energy. The modern Quincy has been seen relying on these tools as a stand-in for their Quincy bow, when tact or melee finesse is required.